Mancinelli To Race For Mucke At Spa And Monza

Italian driver Daniel Mancinelli will make his GP3 Series debut at the next round of the championship at Spa-Francorchamps after completing a deal to race for the Mucke Motorsport team at the final two rounds of the season.

The 23-year-old won the Italian Formula Renault title in 2009 and has since raced in Italian Formula 3, winning twice on his way to fourth in the standings in his rookie year last year. He won the first race of this season, but has since failed to finish inside the top six, struggling again at Spa-Francorchamps last weekend. He tested for GP2 team Rapax at the end of last year in Abu Dhabi.

Mancinelli will race in the final two rounds of the GP3 season at Spa and Monza, with a view to racing full-time in the series next season.

“I hoped to achieve a good results in Spa and change the way but nothing happens as I wished,” he said. “Now I have reached an agreement with Mucke Motorsport, surely one of the most competitive team in Europe, to run the last two rounds of 2011 GP3 Series in Spa and Monza.

“I know that will hard for me because I don't know the car but I hope to do a good job and plan something for the next year. I hope to end this season better than it started.”

It has not yet been announced which of Mucke’s regular drivers will make way for Mancinelli, though it will likely be Luciano Bacheta. Nigel Melker lies third in the standings, while Michael Christensen has twice finished races in second place. Bacheta has only once finished inside the points, and only joined the team on the eve of the season opener.